Reed Hastings’s planned exit from $455 billion Netflix ‘had nothing to do with’ the failed deal for Warner Bros., says Ted Sarandos

Man in t-shirt and jeans waving while walking (Credit: Kevin Dietsch—Getty Images)

The next episode for Netflix? The start of a post–Reed Hastings era. 

The 65-year-old cofounder and former CEO of the world’s largest streaming service announced on Thursday that he won’t stand for reelection to the board at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in June, ending a 29-year run at the company he created in 1997. In a statement included in the first quarter investor letter, the billionaire said he’s leaving to focus on philanthropy “and other pursuits.” He gave shoutouts to co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos, who took full control of Hastings’s executive role in January 2023.